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Help Rescue the Rainforest Along Nicaragua's Historic Río San Juan
One of the biggest threats to rainforests in Mesoamerican countries like Nicaragua is their continual invasion by land-hungry farmers who cut and burn the forest to plant survival crops like corn and beans. But once deforested, most rainforest can't support crops for very long. So the farmers have to move on, clearing more and more forest.
Farmers apply improved agricultural techniques that will reduce their need to clear more forest for crop land.
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The need to grow food will not go away, but it's possible for families to farm without destroying the rainforest. Support the work of conservationists who are teaching ecology and efficient rainforest agricultural techniques to farming families living along the edge of Nicaragua's southern rainforest. Learn more about Nicaragua.
The forest in question drapes along the San Juan River, which divides Nicaragua from Costa Rica. It is rich with plant and animal species and is part of an international park shared with Costa Rica called "Si-A-Paz," or "Yes-to-Peace" in English. When Nicaragua's long civil war ended in 1991, thousands of displaced, impoverished farmers began searching for unclaimed land, and the forest of Si-A-Paz beckoned.
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Fire is used to clear forests throughout the tropics.
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Si-A-Paz is an important park in the Mesoamerican region, and the park's borders are very near the limits of a reserve in neighboring Costa Rica. Environmentalists hope to connect parks from Mexico all the way south to Panama so that there is an unbroken, protected forest corridor stretching along the Caribbean coast of the Isthmus. This ambitious project is called the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor and Si-A-Paz is integral to the plan's success.
Chestnut-mandibled toucan.
(© Chris Wille)
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One of the biggest threat to rainforests in Mesoamerican countries like Nicaragua is their continual invasion by land-hungry farmers who cut and burn the forest to plant survival crops like corn and beans. But once deforested, most rainforest land can't support crops for very long. So the farmers have to move on, clearing more and more forest.
In the wilds of southern Nicaragua, conservationists are helping farmers end this hopeless cycle by teaching them how to grow bigger and healthier crops and provide for a brighter, more stable future. As a result, families will no longer need to clear rainforest for more land and firewood.
The Rainforest Alliance's partner in the area is the Center for Research and Promotion for Rural and Social Development, or CIPRES, its Spanish acronym. CIPRES ecologists and technicians work side-by-side with farmers, giving them information about agriculture and the environment that gets passed on to their neighbors. Farmers learn how to plant non-traditional, nutritious crops and use organic farming techniques that slowly transform worthless land into productive gardens. They also plant trees for fruit, firewood and lumber.
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View of the Río San Juan, near El Castillo, Nicaragua.
(© Chris Wille)
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How You Can Help Save This Rainforest
Impoverished farming families living in and around Nicaraguan rainforests must learn new ways to earn a living without destroying the environment. By supporting efforts to improve agricultural practices, you can help these farmers become more productive so they won't need to destroy the rainforest--forests that the area's people and wildlife will need for generations to come.
Suggested Donation
Any amount is welcome and will be put to good use. Here are some examples of what your donation will be help buy:
| $10 - $50 |
Tools (shovels, rakes, hammers), fruit tree seedlings |
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| $50 - $100 |
Chickens, improved corn and bean seed, grain silo |
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| $100 - $200 |
Farming equipment and animals that can help sustain an entire community |
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